Manchester United's £76.3m (€90m) deal for Ajax winger Antony has been rejected, but the two clubs are still in negotiations ahead of next week's transfer deadline. Antony is a Brazilian international who previously worked with United boss Erik Ten Hag at Eredivisie winners Ajax.

Manchester United's most recent bid of £76.3m (€90m) for Brazil winger Antony was rejected by Ajax.

United have been interested in the 22-year-old for weeks, and earlier this week they made a bid of £67.9m (€80m).
The latest sign that Antony wants to transfer to Old Trafford was his exclusion from Ajax's squad for Sunday's 1-0 victory against Sparta Rotterdam, but the Eredivisie champions have held hard against United's increased offer.
According to a YouTube post by Italian journalist Fabrizio Romano, Antony stated, "Since February of this year, my agents came to Amsterdam to inform Ajax of my desire to leave the club to face a new challenge and that some interested clubs would arrive and, with them, certainly a great offer,"

Discussions, including an offer to prolong the contract with Ajax, came to a close during the window months. I've made it quite obvious that I want to withdraw from further participation in the club's activities.

"Today I met with the board and informed them of my desire to leave the club, this time with a substantial offer in hand. Even if everyone else has shown up, Ajax always says no since it can be replaced in only five days (me).

I'm not requesting my release from Ajax; rather, I want to be sold to the team that offers the most money for an Eredivisie player.
United's manager, Erik ten Hag, is a former coach at Ajax and has previously signed defender Lisandro Martinez from the club. If Antony were to join United, he would be reunited with ten Hag.

"I was very happy in Amsterdam, I won titles at Ajax, made friends and built part of my career, but now I reinforce that I am ready and full of motivation to follow my story and my dreams," he said.

If people would just listen to me, they'd realize that the things that drive me are the things that provide me the most joy in life. In order to maintain my current level of performance, I need this. It's impossible for me to forget Ajax.

In spite of the latest offer rejection, discussions between the two teams continue in anticipation of the September 1 transfer deadline.

As Dharmesh Sheth of Sky Sports News put it on The Transfer Show, "you can understand Ajax's position over sale."

"United, as stated by Erik Ten Hag's comments, is in need of quality players. Despite this, Man United's pursuit of Antony has been repeatedly stopped by Ajax.

"We recently heard that they have resubmitted a proposal for €90 million (€80 million plus add-ons), but Ajax has once again asked for additional money.

"Ajax's perspective seems reasonable. They must know that Manchester United is becoming desperate with just six days left in the transfer window. They should aim to grow it as much as they can since, even if they are at a disadvantage, raising it higher would help everyone." If they sell Antony to United, they'll have a lot of cash on hand, but how long will it take them to find a suitable replacement?

"In spite of this, Antony has made it obvious that he wants to quit Ajax and join United. Talks between the teams are continuing, and they get along well; nonetheless, we anticipate that Ajax would want an offer of at least €100 million before agreeing to sell him."

Schreuder is optimistic about Antony's future.
Ajax manager Alfred Schreuder expressed optimism this week that Antony would continue with the club despite United's absence from the Champions League.

"For some reason, I think everything will work out. It's obviously tough. I get what the kid is trying to say "Following Ajax's victory on Sunday, Schreuder made the following comment. "But he's on Ajax's roster, so teams like that do approach him. Although I may be wrong, I don't believe that Manchester United will be participating in the Champions League this season."

I don't know, that's for the club to decide, but I believe we're extremely strong financially," he said when asked whether Ajax could afford to reject offers of €90 or €100 million.

As I've said before, the sums of money at stake today are outlandish. However, if you take a look at our roster, you'll see that we've already parted ways with five or six significant players since I joined the squad. If we have to sell another player, I will not be happy.

Ten Hag's man: Why Antony
A lot of us are rooting for him to become Ajax's next big thing. It was July of 2020, and Ajax manager Erik ten Hag was presenting the club's new £20 million signing from Sao Paulo, Antony.

The Ajax team "We at Ajax are always trying to strive for the top," Ten Hag said. As a result, I have faith that he will make every effort to meet or exceed them. What happens with the rest of it remains to be seen.

Even though Ten Hag knew he had a star on his hands in Antony, the Brazilian, who was just 19 when he accepted to his transfer to Amsterdam, quickly established himself as one of Ajax's important players.